The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus and a discharge destination display method. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus and a discharge destination display method which enable a user to collectively take printed matters of other users near the user.
There are various conventional arts as image forming apparatuses such as a copy machine, a multifunction peripheral, a printer, and the like, which are shared and used by a plurality of users. For example, as a first related art, a printing device has been known, which performs printing processes upon receiving print jobs that are outputted from a plurality of host devices connected over a network, and include print data and identification information of transmission sources of the print data. This printing device includes a reception portion that receives each print job, a printing portion that executes a printing process on a specified recording medium on the basis of the print data included in each print job, and a count portion that counts the number of discharged recording medium according to the printing process for each print job. The printing device further includes a print job history management table forming portion that stores the count result of the count portion for each transmission source identification information, and a display portion that displays the content of the print job history management table corresponding to a predetermined number of print jobs in a period from the present back to the past. Thereby, even when printed matters are forgotten to be taken and remain on a sheet discharge tray of a printer shared and used by a plurality of users, it is easy to know to whom the printed matters belong, which have been discharged and stacked on top of one another in the sheet discharge tray, on the basis of the user information, the number of sheets to be printed, the sheet size, and the like which are included in the print job.
Meanwhile, as a second related art, an image forming apparatus is known, which discharges an output matter after image formation to an output tray for each job. This image forming apparatus includes a collector detecting portion that detects a collector who has collected the output matter, and a taking-out detecting portion that detects taking-out of the output matter from the output tray. This image forming apparatus further includes: a recording portion that records information indicating the state of the output matter discharged to the output tray, based on information at the discharge of the output matter and information detected by the taking-out detecting portion; and a mixing notification portion that, when the collector detecting portion has detected the collector, determines whether or not the output matter is mixed with another output matter on the output tray on the basis of the information recorded by the recording portion, and, upon determining that the output matters are mixed, notifies the collector of the mixing. Thus, it is possible to avoid erroneous taking-out of an output matter from the output tray due to mixing of output matters, resulting in improved convenience for users and improved security.
Meanwhile, as a third related art, a printer system is known, which includes a client computer that transmits data for printing and a printing instruction, and a printer device that prints a content represented by the data for printing, in accordance with the printing instruction. In this system, the printer device includes a printing history data storage portion that stores therein data indicating a printing history corresponding to each print job. Further, at least one of the client computer and the printer device includes a printing history output instruction input portion, and a printing history output portion that outputs the printing history represented by the printing history data stored in the printing history data storage portion, in accordance with an instruction inputted from the printing history output instruction input portion. Thus, a user is allowed to easily know the printing history.
Meanwhile, as a fourth related art, an image forming apparatus is known, which includes a reception portion that receives a print job, a sheet discharge portion having a bin to which sheets printed based on the print job are discharged, a transmission portion that transmits a print job output completion notification, and a detecting portion that detects whether or not sheets remain in the bin. This image forming apparatus includes a remaining sheet destination specifying portion that specifies the destination of sheets remaining in the bin, a determination portion that, if sheets remain in the bin, determines whether or not the specified destination of the remaining sheets is the same as the destination of the print job, and an output completion notification destination setting portion that, when the specified destination of the remaining sheets is not the same as the destination of the print job, sets the specified destination of the remaining sheets to the transmission destination of an output completion notification. Thereby, it is possible to notify each user that he/she has forgotten to take a printed matter. Thus, the image forming apparatus is useful for avoiding the situation that printed matters directed to a plurality of users are mixed in one bin.